Old Sequoia
Old Sequoia is a Donald Duck short released 21 December 1945. Summary An old sequoia tree stands surrounded by a fence in a National Park. Two beavers are chewing down one tree after another, getting closer and closer to Old Sequoia. Up in a nearby lookout post, Donald Duck, Agent 13, is sleeping precariously in a chair leaning back on a loose side board that overlooks a deep lake a thousand feet below when the telephone rings. Donald avoids falling, gets smacked by the loose board, and answers the telephone. The chief ranger scolds Donald for ignoring the phone after the first ring and warns him that his carelessness has resulted in a lot of trees lost in his sector, adding that "if Old Sequoia goes, YOU GO!" Just as Donald gets mad at the threat of being fired, the chief ranger rings back and orders Donald to get to work protecting Old Sequoia. Donald spies the beavers chewing on a tree near Old Sequoia, grabs his double barreled shotgun, and runs down the steps of the lookout post, only to trip and fall down the steps and get hit by his own gun. The beavers begin chewing down another tree when Donald appears and threatens them at gunpoint to get lost. One beaver tries to get away, but Donald is standing on his tail. When the beaver orders Donald to get off, Donald flatly refuses, so the beaver uses his tail to throw Donald against the tree, which makes it fall over. As the tree crashes down and Donald lands, his gun goes off, blasting out part of the trunk of another tree, making it fall over and hit Donald on the head. Meanwhile, the beavers come across Old Sequoia and, thinking they've hit the jackpot, start to chew, but Donald arrives and pokes the gun in their faces. The beavers try to sneak away, but Donald keeps one barrel trained on each beaver. Just as he is about to pull the trigger, the telephone rings. Donald rushes away to answer the phone. It's the chief ranger calling to make sure Donald is guarding Old Sequoia, but scolds him for answering the phone and orders him to go back to work. Later, as Donald is patrolling, he hears chewing noises coming from one of the giant roots. After teasing Donald with knocks on the root, the beavers make it to the main trunk and keep chewing. A hole appears and sawdust spews out through it. Donald plugs the hole but another one appears, then another. He tries scooping the sawdust back into Old Sequoia, but one beaver catches it on his tail and flings it back on to him, turning him in to a duck-shaped dustpile. Donald leaves and comes back with a tractor fitted with a vacuum pipe, which sucks in the sawdust through one end and blows it into the trunk through another end. This only ends up over-stuffing the now-hollow trunk and blows off the bark. The coughing beavers have chewed so much that now the whole tree is supported on a thin little spindle of wood. Seeing the damage, Donald races to hold up the tree, but the beavers get the idea to "help" Donald make Old Sequoia fall over. One beaver slaps his tail on the ground so hard that it shakes the leaves off a bush and shakes Donald and Old Sequoia to the point where there's no stopping it from meeting its fate. One beaver makes his tail into the shape of a megaphone and the other beaver shouts "Timber!" through it, then both beavers run away. Donald quickly props up Old Sequoia with wooden poles and replaces the bark. Donald tells Old Sequoia that it's safe now, but the poles begin to quiver. At that moment, the telephone rings again, its sound waves pushing against one side of the tree. Donald rushes back to the lookout post to answer it. It's the chief ranger calling again. He asks Donald "How's Old Sequoia comin'?" Donald looks out, sees the poles finally giving way, and Old Sequoia falling toward the lookout post, and replies "Just coming fine!" As Old Sequoia falls past the lookout post, it reaches out a branch like a hand and grabs it, crashes down over a cliff, and splashes down into the lake below. Underwater, in the ruins of the lookout post, the telephone rings. Donald swims over and answers it. It's the chief ranger again, calling to fire him. Category:Shorts